Part 4/9:
After intermittently returning to democracy, the late 20th century was marred by military coups, with the military wielding significant power in Turkish politics, especially against rising political Islam. Political Islam's roots can be traced back to the 1970s but gained prominence in 1996 when Necmettin Erbakan became Turkey's first Islamic prime minister. This set the stage for Erdoğan’s eventual emergence on the political scene.